Doctor Welk is a phenomenal cosmetic surgeon. I am going to say it again, Doctor Welk is phenomenal. I am a middle-aged woman and I had him do face and neck work on me. He did a remarkable and impressive job. I couldn’t be happier. My results look so natural. His work is A++. I am a perfectionist too. So, ladies, listen up, consult with Dr. Welk if you are needing some work done. Don’t even waste your time looking for a surgeon. He is talented, has a good vision for what needs to be done, is super funny, amiable, brilliant, and will go out of his way to help you. He is a total gem to the medical profession. His office staff was equally great to work with. Doctor Welk, I am very grateful. Your work is stupendous!

Submitted Sept. 20, 2022

Dr. Welk is well-known for his expertise in breast surgery, but almost 30 years ago, he was part of a team who performed a complex limb-sparing surgery on my husband's left tibia. A rare sarcoma was discovered in his lower shin that had almost "eaten" entirely through the bone.
Another tremendous surgeon, Dan Flugstad, removed about 8 inches of bone replacing it with cadaver bone. I remember my husband ended up with one or two-hundred nuts, bolts, screws.......
Next, Dr. Welk stepped in and performed a muscle and skin graft. The donor tissue was taken from the inner thigh of the opposite leg . Muscle from the inner thigh is often not well developed and has little impact on mobility, etc.
However, my husband power-walked Greenlake every day, and Dr. Welk was shocked by the "huge" blood vessles developed because of my husband's superior cardiac fitness. Attaching the large vessels to the tiny vessels near my husband's ankle took tremendous skill. The entire surgery, including bone grafting, took almost 19 hours.
My husband always wore cargo shorts year round. His gait was absolutely normal, not a hint of a limp. The incision was a narrow diamond shape, about 12 inches long on the front of his shin, and after less than a year, you would not notice unless you looked for it. The cosmetic result as well the functionality was unbelievable!
Dr. Welk was SO good to us! I can't say enough about him.

Submitted Aug. 24, 2022

Dr. Welk is simply amazing! I'll not repeat what others have described in detail. To summarize, he cares, he's brilliant and incredibly detailed, he gives out his mobile phone number to you just before surgery. He REALLY cares!


Here's an example. About 6 weeks after my breast reconstruction, a small lump formed under the scar. I live 2+ hours away in Olympia and asked my PCP about it. She palpated it and scheduled me for an ultrasound. As a courtesy, I phoned Dr. Welk's office to let them know what was up, and was put through to his nurse. After consulting with him, she said I should skip the ultra-sound and drive up to Seattle. I resisted, as I was concerned about the 2-hour drive and missing a full day of work. I told his nurse I'll just do the ultra-sound.


Well, Dr. Welk phoned me personally to explain why the ultra-sound would be a huge waste of my time and money. He said he could tell more by palpating the lump than the ultrasound. But he didn't stop there. He offered to come into the office early and see me before his first surgery, which would allow me to beat the traffic. If it turned out to be nothing, I'd only miss a couple of hours of work.


Well, it turned out NOT to be nothing (but luckily not more cancer). To save me another round-trip drive to Seattle, Dr. Welk squeezed me in between surgeries later that morning. He did a small surgery with a local anesthetic, and I was on my way by 12:00 noon.


I'd also like to add that my surgery sites look beautiful. He does lots of wonderful teeny tiny little stitches. My scars have healed wonderfully! I adore Dr. Welk... he's brilliant, he's funny, and he's a damn good surgeon!

Submitted July 11, 2021

My journey to finding Dr. Drew Welk felt serendipitous. About six months ago I started hearing his name during random conversations between girlfriends, strangers and other medical professionals. Each time they would say, "Dr. Welk is the best plastic surgeon in the Seattle area." I didn't think anything of it at the time because I already had two breast augmentations and lifts (also known as augmentation mammoplasty and mastopexy). For reference, I used Dr. Sepehr Egrari for the first and DR. Phillip Kierney for the second. So, I just assumed that my journey of perfecting my breasts was over until I was diagnosed with breast cancer on November 25, 2020.

I began treatment on January 11, 2021 with a bilateral (double) skin sparing (not nipple sparing) mastectomy. During the surgery and in anticipation of reconstruction two weeks later, my Surgical Oncologist left my existing saline implants in place to keep the skin stretched for my plastic surgeon to replace them with tissue expanders. During the surgery, however, my right implant ruptured. To make matters worse, two days after my mastectomy I found out that my plastic surgeon was out of network and my reconstruction was subsequently canceled.

The circumstance and timing were fortuitous. I remembered Dr. Welk's name and immediately phoned his office. The team was incredibly empathetic and with urgency, Dr. Welk's Patient Care Coordinator, Judy squeezed me into his schedule that Friday for a consultation with surgery the following Tuesday (just eight days after my mastectomy).

From the very first time I met with Dr. Welk, I felt safe. He was compassionate towards me, validated my concerns and took immediate action to take over my care. I call him Superman! He has this way of communicating that is both gentle and assertive--he takes the time to educate and explain, setting realistic expectations but also helping to minimize my anxiety along the way. One of the first things that he did during my consultation was ask for my phone so he could add his phone number into my Contacts. He is attentive and supportive and I trust him implicitly. We agreed that because he had never seen me prior to my mastectomy, he would have to make decisions about my reconstruction (e.g., size, type of implant, etc.) while he was operating--the ultimate exercise in letting go of trying to perfect!

During the day of my surgery, Dr. Welk and his medical team were positive and energetic, even though I was their last surgery of the day. As nervous as I was, the team took great care in calming me. As nurse, Marilyn hooked me up, she and the team cleverly latched onto a topic that I showed interest in to help distract me. Bettie, the Anesthesiologist, even took a few extra seconds to hold my cheeks after placing the oxygen mask over my face. It was little things like this that made me feel comfortable and cared for and I will never forget it.

While I still have several surgeries ahead before the reconstruction process is complete, I can already see that my results will be beautiful. Dr. Welk chose saline implants (bypassing tissue expanders!) with subpectoral placement (under the muscle). I'm even happier with the new, slightly smaller size that he chose because they fit my frame far better. His hands are skilled and the pain has been minimal. In fact, his incisions and stitching technique are so precise and barely visible that I have asked him to revise the scars from my previous surgeries. He's that good.

If you're looking for a plastic surgeon for cosmetic improvements or reconstruction, he is truly the best. I will never go to anyone else and I'm already dreading the day that he will inevitably retire. He is by far, the best doctor that I have ever had.

Submitted Feb. 6, 2021

Dr. Welk has a reputation for being the top surgeon in town for implant based breast reconstruction and is the doctor that other doctors say they would use if they needed surgery. Having had 3 breast reconstruction surgeries with him I have to agree!
After being diagnosed with breast cancer I consulted with a many other plastic surgeons around town, some of whom were very dismissive. Dr. Welk was the clear choice for me in terms of his overall knowledge, dedication, experience, and meticulous approach to surgery. Another major bonus for me was the fact that when you choose to have surgery at the Polyclinic you don't end up with residents operating with you as would happen at SCCA/UW and other facilities. That is definitely not something I would've been comfortable with. I was well taken care of by Dr. Welk and everyone on his staff and would encourage anyone seeking breast reconstruction to consult with him.

Submitted May 23, 2020

Doctor Welk is a gifted, excellent, caring doctor and a great human being. I was very satisfied with my tummy tuck and felt very lucky to get it done by Doctor Welk. Strongly recommend him to everyone!

Submitted Sept. 24, 2018

Doctor Welk was the most wonderful doctor I ever met. I had a tummy tuck with him. He was extremely professional, kind , and caring. He was simply a wonderful human being and an excellent doctor. I am very satisfied with my tummy tuck highly recommend him to the ladieus who wants to be more beautiful in the good hands!

Submitted Sept. 6, 2018

I have a great experience & result with Dr.Welk.
He is a Perfectionis

Submitted June 16, 2018

Dr. Welk couldn't have been more caring about making sure I got connected with the best oncologist for the best possible results. He personally spent additional time helping me battle the insurance company for which I am forever grateful. After the reconstruction scars fully heal, it will be difficult to tell I had a double mastectomy. I wouldn't recommend anyone else but Dr. Welk. A truly talented doctor.

Submitted July 15, 2017

Dr. Welk is a meticulous, extremely knowledgeable, excellent surgeon--best of the best with an excellent reputation among other doctors and patients alike. His staff is also excellent. You can rest assured you will have excellent care with Dr. Welk and his team!

Submitted March 11, 2017